Royal Navy Museums: Explosion
Gosport, Gosport
Photo of Gosport: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0Photo of Gosport: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0
Royal Navy Museums: Explosion is in an 18th-century gunpowder store at Priddy’s Hard in Gosport. It traces naval weapons from gunpowder to modern missiles and torpedoes, and has views across the harbour from its café.
Highlights
- Missiles, torpedoes and small arms
- The Coastal Force boats, known as Spitfires of the Seas
- Views across the harbour from the café
- Grand Magazine, a former gunpowder store built in 1771
Good to know
- A Waterbus from Portsmouth Historic Dockyard serves the museum, restricted to weekends in winter
- Walking between the Gosport museums takes about 40 minutes
- The museum has free Wi-Fi after signing in
Getting there
Royal Navy Museums: Explosion, Heritage Way, Priddy’s Hard, Gosport, Hampshire, PO12 4LEParking: Use the satnav address Heritage Way, Priddy’s Hard, Gosport. Parking is on site.
Get directionsChecked on 19 October 2026 against royalnavymuseums.org.uk, historicdockyard.co.uk. Details change, so please confirm with the venue before you travel. How we check
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Nearby
Photo of Gosport: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0Walpole Park
A town park at the western end of Gosport High Street, with flower beds, shrub borders, a children's play area and two boating lakes. One lake hosts international model boat competitions.
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0Gosport Ferry
Gosport Ferry crosses Portsmouth Harbour between Gosport and Portsmouth in about four minutes, and the Gosport terminal is next to the bus station. The Portsmouth side connects to the Harbour station and The Hard Interchange.
HMS Victory
Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, now in dry dock at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The ship is in a long conservation project, so visitors can see the work under way and hear the tools being used.